


Purim Shenanigans

by khazadqueen (ama)



Series: L'Chaim [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Awkward Flirting, Getting Together, Jewish Character, Jewish Holidays, M/M, Sleepy Cuddles
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-26
Updated: 2015-02-26
Packaged: 2018-03-15 08:49:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,285
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3440960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ama/pseuds/khazadqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ori takes a break from a raucous Purim party and finds himself sharing a bottle of wine with Fili, the rabbi's nephew whom he most definitely does not have a crush on.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Purim Shenanigans

**Author's Note:**

> For those of you who aren't familiar with Purim, here is an explanation on why it's totally awesome: http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday9.htm

“Sneaking off?” an amused voice asked, and Ori jumped, letting the door of the synagogue fall shut behind him. He looked around and saw Fili leaning against the wall, just outside the reach of the light above the door, and he caught his breath. Fili grinned unrepentantly. “Sorry.”

“No, it’s fine—you startled me is all. I just wanted a moment of peace and quiet.”

“On Purim?” he said, raising his eyebrows. “I think that’s a sin.”

“What are you doing, then?”

Fili took a drag of his cigarette as an answer.

“I’m quitting,” he added offhandedly.

“I can tell,” Ori said, and it came out much drier than he had intended; the drinking had started quite some time ago, and wine always made him more sarcastic than usual. Well, more outwardly sarcastic. Fili shot him a look of amusement—they hardly knew each other, after all—and stubbed out his cigarette against the wall.

“Fair enough.”

“Sorry, I—”

“No, no, you just added a few years to my life. It’s fine.” He paused. “Enjoying the party?”

“Yes, it’s nice.”

Silence fell over them, but Ori wasn’t sure if it was awkward or not. He leaned against the brick wall, the door separating him and Fili, and crossed his arms against the early-March chill as he inhaled the cool, sweet night air. Luckily he had let his first grade class choose his costume, as many of them celebrated Purim anyway and the rest were intrigued by the possibility of Halloween in March, and they had insisted he go as a superhero. His homemade Batman cape was rather warm.

Ori was having a good night, overall, but still it was nice to have a minute to himself; there was a fairly large turnout, given the nature of the holiday, and he hadn’t been at this synagogue long enough to make any real friends. He had joined almost seven months ago, and really the only people he knew who were his age were Fili and his brother Kili. Their uncle was the principle rabbi, and he had introduced Ori to Kili at kiddush soon after he joined up. Both brothers were perfectly _nice_ , of course, but Ori found it far easier to interact with either seniors (who universally described him as “a very nice young man”) or young children. They expected less of him—and there was also the not-so-insignificant fact that Fili was very, very attractive, and Ori tended to make an absolute fool of himself around attractive young men. His gaydar was horrible.

_I should probably go back inside_ , he thought idly after a minute, but just then there was a muffled burst of noisemakers and shouts from inside, and he stayed put. There were more children at the synagogue then his old one, and they took the command to blot out the name of Haman _very_ seriously. His ears were still ringing.

“Cursed be Haman,” Fili muttered. “Oh look at that—I’m not drunk enough.” He bent down and picked up a bottle of wine from his feet, which Ori hadn’t noticed. He frowned at the top. “Damn, it’s a cork. I don’t suppose you have a corkscrew on you?”

“No, sorry. I’m sure they have plenty inside.”

Fili pulled a face at that and glanced at the doors.

“I suppose…”

“Is everything okay?” Ori asked hesitantly, and Fili waved him away.

“Yeah, I’m sure it is. It’s just—my ex showed up tonight. He doesn’t come very often so it usually doesn’t matter, and it’s one thing to see him on Yom Kippur but another on Purim, you know? You’re actually expected to be social. Plus he tends to get a bit… I don’t know, _aggressive_ when he drinks. And we didn’t exactly part on good terms.”

“Oh,” Ori said awkwardly. His heart fluttered and he wanted to smack himself. “That’s horrible. But… I mean, it’s a holiday. You don’t think he would pick a fight in public, do you? In a synagogue?”

“Probably not,” Fili agreed with a sigh. “But still…”

He looked dejectedly at the bottle in his hands and Ori’s heart gave a sympathetic twinge.

“Here, give it to me,” he said, holding out a hand. He leaned down to unlace his shoe, and Fili stared at him in bewilderment.

“What are you doing?”

“My brother Dori taught me how to appreciate good wine, and my brother Nori taught me how to open bottles without a corkscrew. Both very important skills. Hurry up, it’s cold out here.”

He rested his socked foot gingerly on the mud-streaked sidewalk, and Fili handed him the bottle. Ori slipped it into his shoe and expertly whacked the heel against the brick wall beside him. There was a faint popping sound, and Fili let out a delighted laugh as the first inch or so of the cork slipped out of the bottle. Ori hit it against the wall one more time and effortlessly pulled the cork out with his fingers. He tried to hand it back to Fili, who held his hands up.

“No, no, please, the first victorious sip should be yours. Well done.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Ori said with a bow, and he took a sip straight from the bottle. “Oh,” he said surprised. “It’s sparkling.” He paused and took another sip. “And pink.”

“Do I not strike you as a sparkling pink wine type of guy?” Fili asked mock-seriously as he reclaimed the wine and took a swig.

“Oh no, I can appreciate that. Cheaper than champagne and still drinkable. You should see my alcohol cupboard at home—it’s a guide to balancing price versus quality. I’m an expert.”

“I’m sure you are. Where did you go to school? I bet your talents were much appreciated.”

Ori responded, and for some time they stayed out there, chatting and passing the wine back and forth. Once or twice Fili leaned close enough for Ori to smell his cologne or to admire the way the light fell on his eyelashes, and he thought dazedly that it was a very good thing tipsy Ori was having this conversation, because sober Ori would be completely flustered. After a while, though, he lifted the bottle to his lips and noticed that it was surprisingly light. Tipsiness could quite possibly be turning into drunkenness.

“I should have some food,” he said abruptly. “Do you think the meal’s still out? Or I could just eat more hamantaschen, I’d be all right with that.”

“Try the brownie ones—they’re my uncle Dwalin’s new experiment.” Fili yawned and glanced at his phone. “I should call a cab.”

“You’re not leaving already?” Ori said, not even trying to keep the disappointment out of his voice.

“Well, I haven’t actually been inside for almost forty minutes. Might as well go home.”

“But… your whole family is here, aren’t they? So you’ll be going home alone, on a holiday, at nine o’clock, just because some idiot ruined it for you? That’s just sad.”

“Thanks, Ori,” Fili laughed. Before Ori could even think about it, he reached out and curled his hand around Fili’s elbow.

“Come on,” he said. “We’ll get your coat and walk to my apartment—it’s not far, and my brother sent me this enormous package of food. I’ll never finish it on my own.”

“Oh no, come on, you don’t have to—” Fili protested, but he looked grateful, and Ori stood firm.

“Baklava. Goat cheese and tomato tart. Sangria.”

Fili pursed his lips for another moment, and then gave in and grinned. He opened the door for Ori.

“You’re pretty great, you know that?” he muttered as he followed him in.

-

The next morning, Ori woke up with a mild hangover and a monumental sense of regret.

“Oh God,” he mumbled as he buried his face in Fili’s curls. His hair smelled wonderful, like day-old shampoo, and it was very soft, which didn’t help matters at all. “This is horrible.”

“Go back to sleep,” Fili said around a yawn. “Unless you have work?”

“I called out sick last night. Said I was coming down with something.”

“Smart. Then go back to sleep—and I think _horrible_ might be a strong word.”

“I don’t mean you’re horrible, of course,” Ori mumbled. “It’s just…”

His mind felt fuzzy still with sleep. He shrugged, and Fili rolled over and rested his hand on Ori’s side. He let his eyes fall closed and settled into the blankets. Ori had never had a dog as a kid—Nori was allergic, and Dori preferred cats anyway—but there had been an old golden retriever at the house down the street, and starting in the spring every year it would lay out in the sun of the front lawn, content with the world and inviting anyone who passed to pet it. Ori was very strongly reminded of that dog now—although he kept his comparison to himself. He wasn’t sure if most people liked being compared to dogs.

“Well if I’m not _so_ horrible, do you want to kiss me again?” Fili asked with a grin, and Ori thought _it is far too early for this_.

“Not now,” Ori mumbled into his pillow. “I just woke up.”

“Later though?”

“Maybe.”

“Then what’s the problem?”

“It’s just… I’ve been at CBI for seven months and I slept with the rabbi’s nephew.  Right after an event, no less! People are going to _talk_.”

“We didn’t actually sleep together,” Fili pointed out. He didn’t help at all, however, by leaning over and ever-so-casually pressing an open-mouthed kiss to Ori’s neck. The kiss was warm and soft and it made him shiver. Unthinkingly Ori reached up and ran his fingers through Fili’s hair.

“Like anyone’s going to believe that,” he mumbled, although he didn’t mind as much as he did a moment ago.

Still, the blush on his face didn’t fade as he began to recall the night before with a bit more clarity. It had started out innocently enough. They had tucked into the basket of food Dori sent, drinking milk to go along with the baklava and the brownie-cookie hybrid. The problem arose, though, when Ori had tried to subtly drop hints that he was also gay and single. Unfortunately, the right topics had just refused to come up, and his subtle hint had come out sounding a bit more like a bizarre non-sequitur. To cover up his embarrassment, he had blurted out an offer of showing off his cheap-but-good wine knowledge. Fili had expressed an interest, then, in learning the cork trick, so they had each opened a bottle in the process. They hadn’t finished both of them, but they had drunk enough to get a bit… cozy.

And then—oh God—Ori had kissed Fili. _Ori_ had kissed _Fili_. Right out of the blue! Well, Fili hadn’t minded, as far as he could tell, and they had ended up kissing lazily on the couch and then the bed for quite some time, but still, he had the distinct impression that he might have been on the wrong side of the sloppy drunk divide. With any luck, though, Fili had been too. At least he didn’t seem to be judging Ori for it now.

“Maybe people won’t talk,” Fili suggested idly. “No one really saw us together much, and we can just keep it to ourselves if you want. I’ll ask Kili not to say anything.”

“Oh please,” Ori laughed. Fili’s brother had run into them when they fetched their coats, and the look he had sent Fili was not at all subtle. “Your brother probably told five people by the time the door closed behind us.” Fili shrugged noncommittally and continued his intensive study of Ori’s neck. A grin fluttered onto Ori’s face. “It really doesn’t bother you at all, does it? The idea of people gossiping about you?”

“Not if they’re gossiping about things I’m not actually ashamed of, no. I like you. You’re sweet and smart and a very good kisser. If people think we’re together, I would actually be flattered.”

Ori wrinkled his nose.

“We had a _lot_ to drink last night. I wouldn’t trust my judgment if I were you.”

Fili rested his chin on Ori’s chest and looked up at him through his lashes with a grin—and that was a really _unfairly_ attractive look.

“Well I wouldn’t have to if you would kiss me again. And as for the first two, I can judge again on our date, can’t I?”

Ori’s eyes widened.

“We have a date.”

“We do.”

“You… asked me out last night.”

“I did.”

“Oh.”

A stupid, silly grin spread over Ori’s face. He tried to squash it down and, failing that, tried to roll over onto his side, but Fili laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around Ori’s waist, leaning up to kiss his ear.

“Geeze, first you call me horrible and then you won’t kiss me and then you forget me baring my heart and soul. I’m beginning to get offended.”

“Excuse me, I did kiss you last night,” Ori pointed out, and his stomach did funny things at the thought, still. “I’m saying I won’t do it when I’ve just woken up and I haven’t even brushed my teeth or had something to drink or anything. I’m sorry I forgot about the date, but I am free this Saturday for dinner.”

“Sounds perfect,” Fili said around another yawn. He settled against Ori’s shoulder and pulled the blanket further up his back. “And you don’t think I’m horrible?”

“No. I actually think you’re… pretty great.”

Fili smiled, and Ori could feel the warm curve of lips against his neck.

“Well, Chag Purim Sameach to you, too.”


End file.
